Silo unloader lowering control



Nov. 16, 1965 F. E. BuscHBoM 3,217,90'7

SILO UNLOADER LOWERING CONTROL Filed June 7, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 FlagINVENTOR FLOYD E. Bax/150M Nov. 16, 1965 Filed June 7, 1963 F/GZ F. E.BUSCHBOM SILO UNLOADER LOWERING CONTROL 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR FL areE Bax/150M y f wmtw A7- TORNE K5 SILO UNLOADER LOWERING CONTROL FiledJune 7, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 LL /00 T 94 72-- T I INVEN TOR LOY0 t.BUJCHBOM ATTORNEY-i Nov. 16, 1965 F. E. BUSCHBOM 3,217,90'7

' SILO UNLOADER LOWERING CONTROL Filed June 7, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 4EL'ZI'II'IILTIIIEZTI': III: I:

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United States Patent 3,217,907 SILO UNLGADER LOWERING CUNTRGL Floyd E.Buschhom, Long Lake, Minn, assignor to Vandale Corporation, Long Lake,Minn, a corporation of Minnesota Filed June 7, 1963, Ser. No. 286,291 12Claims. (Cl. 214-17) The present invention relates to materials handlingequipment and more particularly to ensilage unloading equipment and to acontrol device therefor. While the invention can be employed forunloading a variety of materials, it is particularly well adapted foragricultural use in the removal of ensilage from a silo.

In recent years a variety of automatic silo unloading devices have comeinto use. These devices ordinarily include a motor driven auger and ameans for moving the auger from one location to another within the silo.In the past, such silo unloaders have been customarily supported forvertical movement with the silo by the provision of a hand operatedcrank. These manually operated devices not only are fatiguing andtime-consuming to operate but also require constant attention during theremoval of ensilage from the silo. Moreover, there is no reliable way tojudge the position of the unloader since it is hidden within the silo.

A further shortcoming of these prior devices is that since they arenecessarily located adjacent to the silo, the work must often be carriedout from an inconvenient or otherwise undesirable location. Theinconvenience associated with the operation of prior art devices has, infact, sometimes resulted in the failure to raise the unloader after ithas been used which in winter months results in the freezing of theunloader to the top of the ensilage stored within the silo. Freeing anunloader which has become frozen to the top of the ensilage is anunpleasant task requiring substantial time and effort.

Still another shortcoming of the prior art devices of the classdescribed results from the fact that the constant raising and loweringof the unloader from the surface of the ensilage will often subject theunloader motor to loads in excess of the prescribed limits therebyreducing the life of the equipment.

In view of these and other defects of the prior art it is thus oneobject of the present invention to provide an improved silo winchcontrol which will enable the silo unloader to be quickly raised orlowered with little manual effort.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an improvedsilo unloading control including a provision for raising and loweringthe unloader from a remote location.

Still another object of the present invention is the provision of a silounloader control which can be set to lower the unloader at apredetermined rate and will continue to operate unattended.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of animproved silo winch control including a means for indicating the periodof time during which the unloader was raised or lowered within the silo.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of animproved silo unloader control including a means which will prevent theunloader motor from being overloaded.

Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of animproved apparatus enabling a silo unloader to be raised or lowered atrelatively fast or relatively slow rates as desired.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of an unloader,winch and control therefor having a novel cooperative relationship, thecontrol embodying a unique means for indicating the duration of movementof the unloader and a movable switch cooperatively associated therewithto regulate the duration of operation of the winch.

Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of animproved silo unloader winch control including a means for raising andlowering the unloader at a plurality of predetermined rates andincluding a means for controlling at least one of said rates.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent as thedescription proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, this inventionthen comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularlypointed out in the claims, the following description setting forth indetail certain illustrative embodiments of the invention, these beingindicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which theprinciples of the invention may be employed.

The invention is illustrated by the accompanying drawings in which thesame numerals refer to corresponding parts and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical side elevational view partly in section of a siloincluding a silo winch control according to the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view of the winch andassociated components taken on line 22 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 3 is an end elevational view of the winch embodying the presentinvention taken on line 3-3 of FIGURES 1 and 4;

FIGURE 4 is a plan view of the winch;

FIGURE 5 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 5-5 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is a side elevational view partly broken away of the controlaccording to the present invention;

FIGURE 7 is a plan view partly broken away of the control according tothe present invention;

FIGURE 8 is an end elevational view partly broken away of the controltaken on line 88 of FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 9 is a partial side elevational view of the control showing theposition indicator arm; and

FIGURE 10 is a schematic wiring diagram of the con trol according to thepresent invention.

Referring now to the figures which illustrate a preferred form of myinvention there is shown a silo 10 within which is stored ensilage 12.The ensilage 12 is removed from the silo by means of a silo unloader ofthe type shown in my Patents No. 2,794,560 and No. 2,877,907 to whichreference is made. The unloader is indicated generally at 14 andincludes a supporting framework 16, a

drive motor 18, an auger means 29, impeller unit 22 and an exhaust chute24 and suitable drive hubs. The unload-er 14 is supported by means ofcables 26 which extend upwardly from the impeller unit 22 to aconnecting hook 28. Extending upwardly from book 28 is an elongatedflexible connecting member such as a cable 30 which is entrained over asheave 32 at the top of the silo. The sheave 32 is itself supported by aplurality of inclined tripod legs 34, 36 and 38 which are connected attheir upper ends and rest at their lower ends upon the wall of the silo10. From sheave 32 the cable 30 extends downwardly and over a sheave 40positioned in an opening 42 in the silo roof 44. From the sheave 45, thecable 311 extends downwardly at 46 to a winch indicated generally at 48.

The winch 48 includes a support assembly 50, a winch reel 52 and a drivemeans such as a reversible electric drive motor 54. The supportingframework 50 comprises a pair of laterally spaced and parallel andhorizontally extending L irons 56 and 58 afiixed at their inward ends toa pair of vertical members such as L irons 60 and 62. The motor 54 ismounted by bolts 57 upon a bracket 59 which is itself rigidly attachedto the outward ends of the horizontal support members 56 and 58. At theupper end of the L irons 60 and 62 are a pair of horizontally extendingspacers 64 and 66 respectively (FIGURES 2 and 3) which rest at theinward ends against the outside surface of the silo 1t). Rigidly securedto the vertical members 60 and 62 as by welding are a pair of retainingmembers such as identical hooks 68 and 70, each of which extends beneathone of the circular reinforcing rods 72 which encircle the silo 1d.Positioned laterally of each of the vertical members 60 and 62 areconnecting clips 80 and 82 respectively, each including upper and lowerslidably related hook members A and B which are secured together by abolt 84. During assembly, the portions A and B are slid toward eachother until the hooked ends thereof are engaged over the retaining rods72 at which time the nut 85 can be tightened upon bolt 84. The clips 80and 82 thus function to reliably secure the reinforcing rod 72 to whichthe members 68 and 70 are secured to the next lower rod 72. It will beseen that while the supporting framework 58 is securely fastened to thereinforcing rods 72, it can nonetheless be put in place with relativeease.

Rigidly affixed to the vertical members 60 and 62 respectively, byfasteners such as bolts 90 is a housing 92 including a gear case 94within which is rotatably mounted a worm gear 96 and a worm gear 98. Theworm 96 is aflixed to a shaft 160 which is suitably coupled to the drivemotor 54. The worm gear 98 is affixed to a shaft 102 which is mountedfor rotation upon spaced journals 104 and 106. Rigidly aflixed to theshaft 102 is a reel 1108 upon which is wound the lower end of cable 31),as best seen in FIGURE 2.

It can thus be seen that as the motor 54 is operated in one directionduring operation of the apparatus, the shaft 100 will cause the worm 96to turn in a first direction thereby rotating the worm gear 98 and reel108 at a reduced speed and in a direction adapted to allow the cable 30to unwind from the reel 108. When the motor 54 is operated in the otherdirection, shaft 100 and worm 96 will turn the worm gear 98 and reel 108at a reduced speed and in the opposite direction thereby causing thecable to be wound upon the reel which in turn raises the silo unloaded14.

Refer now to FIGURES 6-10 which illustrate the con trol according to thepresent invention. The control includes a housing 110 having side, topand bottom walls and a supporting bracket 112 rigidly afixed to one ofthe side walls. Bracket 112 includes a vertically disposed portion 114upon which a regulator or timer motor 116 is mounted.

The timing motor 116 includes a timing shaft 118 which extends throughone of the side Walls of the housing and has rigidly connected to it atits outward end a position indicator member or arm 1211. An indicatorplate 122 (FIGURES 8 and 9) is aflixed to the Wdll of the casing 116 andis provided with arbitrarily spaced position indicator marks 124 which,if desired, can be designated by numbers (not shown) so that theposition of arm 12% can be observed with reference to a fixed referencepoint.

Extending radially from the shaft 118 is a switch operating member 126.The member 126 extends radially a sufiicient distance to engage theswitch lever 128 of a current control device such as a normally openmicro switch 135. The microswitch 131) is itself mounted for slidingmovement along a guide 132 supported upon bracket 112. The guide 132 isprovided with a longitudinally extending slot 134 into which projects abolt 136 attached to microswitch 131 at its upper end. Extendingupwardly from the microswitch and rigidly connected thereto is anadjustment bracket 138 to which is threaded a thumb screw 140 mounted at141 for rotation in one wall of the housing 110. By turning the screw140 in a first direction, the microswitch 130 can be made to move alongthe guide 132 toward the shaft 1118 thereby enabling the operatingmember 126 to engage the lever 128 sooner during one complete revolutionand to remain in engagement therewith longer as the shaft 115 turns. Byturning the screw 1411 in the opposite direction, the microswitch 130can be slid along the guide 132 in the opposite direction or toward theleft as seen in FIGURE 6, thereby causing the member 126 to engage thelever 128 at a later time during one revolution of shaft 118 and toremain in engagement therewith for a shorter duration of time. In thisway, the movement of the microswitch 1311 upon the guide 132 by thescrew 14!) comprises a means for controlling the interval of time duringwhich the motor 54 is in the operating condition.

Referring particularly to FIGURE 10, it will be Seen that current issupplied to the control through commercial power lines 151 151 and 152.Lines 1511, 151 and 152 are connected through the silo unloader switch154 to the motor 18. The silo unloader switch 154 may, for exam ple, bea manually actuated triple pole, single throw toggle type. Line 151 isconnected to a plug terminal 156 through the silo unloader switch 154.The line 1511 is connected through the silo unloader switch 154 with aplug terminal 158. Terminals i and 162 are adapted to be connected tothe terminals 158 and 156. Connected in series with the terminals 160and 162 by means of lines 163 and 165 are the terminals 164 and 166 ofthe motor 54. Connected in line 165 between the terminals 1611 and 164are a pair of switches 168 and 170. The microswitch 130 is wired inseries with the switch 168 in parallel with motor 54 by means ofconductors 172 and 174.

Wired between the conductors 165 and 163 in parallel with motor 54 is adouble pole double throw motor reversing switch 176. Switch 176 includesa pair of movable contacts connected to lines 163 and 165, a first pairof terminals and a second pair of terminals connected by means ofconductors 178 and 181), to a pair of contacts 182 and 184 on the motor54. By throwing the switch 176 so as to engage the first terminals,motor 54 can be made to turn clockwise and by throwing the switch so asto contact the second terminals, the motor 54 can be made to turn in acounterclockwise direction. The switch 176 may therefore be thought ofas a means for reversing the direction of rotation of the winch.

Wired to the conductors 15d and 152 are a pair of conductor-s 186 and188 to which are secured plug terminals 190 and 192 respectively. Theterminals .161) and 162 can be connected to the terminals 191) and 192When it is desired to run the winch motor 54 without operating the motor18 as for example when it is necessary to raise the unloader assembly 14the full height of the silo 10.

Operation The unloader will ordinarily be started in the up position,that is a position above the upper surface of the ensi-lage. To beginthe operation, the operator should open switch 170 and close the switch168 (start position) thereby completing a circuit through the motor 116and the motor 18. The control is then operated so as to lower theunloader into engagement with the ensi-lage. The auger 20 will then movethe ensilage to the impeller mechanism 22 which forces the ensilage intothe exhaust chute 24 in the usual manner while the timer motor 116 turnsshaft 118 in a clockwise direction as seen in FIGURE 6. After the motor18 has been operating for a time, the operating member 126 will engagethe switch member 128 which during the entire period of engagement willmaintain the microswitch 130 in the closed condition thereby allowingcurrent to pass through the motor 54. Operation of the motor 54 willcause the cable 30 either to be wound upon the reel 180 or unwoundtherefrom depending upon the condition of switch 176. During normalunloading operation, the switch 176 should be in the down position toallow the unloader 14 to be lowered at regular timed intervalsdetermined by the periodic closure of the switch 116. It will thus beapparent that the unloader 14 can be lowered at a relatively slow ratewithout the attention of the operator. As the unloader 14 is thuslowered, the ensilage 12 is, of course, removed by the auger 20. Sincethe unloader 14 is lowered at a predetermined rate with my invention,the loading of the motor 18 can be kept within predetermined orestablished limits thereby prolonging the life of the equipment.

If it is desired to lower the unloader 14 at a more rapid rate, thescrew 140 should be turned so as to slide the microswitch 130 toward theright in FIGURE 6, thereby causing the switch 130 to remain closed for alonger period of time each time it is contacted by the switch operatingmember 126. On the other hand, if it is desired to lower the unloader 14at a slower rate the switch 130 is moved toward the left in FIGURE 6.

When it is desired to move the unloader 14 either up wardly ordownwardly at a relatively rapid rate as for example when the unloaderis to be raised to the top of the silo, the switch 170 is closed therebyserving to bypass the switch 116 and enable the motor 54 to operatecontinuously rather than intermittently. It should be noted that whenthe unloader 14 is being either raised or lowcred, the position thereofcan be reliably judged by observing the movement of the arm 120 on theindicator dial 122 during the time the switch 170 is closed. Thus, whilethe exact height to which the unloader is raised is not itself critical,it is important to be able to lower it back into engagement with thesurface of the ensi-lage. The engaged position is, of course, the sameposition the unloader was in before being raised above the surface ofthe ensilage when the unloader was stopped the previous time. This canbe readily accomplished by allowing the indica tor 120 to swing throughequal arcs while switch 170 is closed during both elevation andlowering. The motor 116 thus serves a double function, namely, that ofcontrolling the operation of the switch 116 and also as a means forvisually indicating the duration of movement of the unloader 14 withinthe silo.

It is apparent that many modifications and variations of this inventionas hereinbefore set forth may be made without departing from the spiritand scope thereof. The specific embodiments described are given by wayof example only and the invention is limited only by the terms of theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A control for a silo unloader comprising in combination, winch meansoperatively connected to said silo unloader for raising and loweringsaid unloader, selectively operable first control means for turning onand off said winch, and second control means for operating said winchintermittently for predetermined periods of time.

2. A silo evacuating implement comprising in combination, a silounloader, winch means operatively connected to said silo unloader forraising and lowering said unloader, selectively operable first controlmeans for turning on and off said winch, second control means foroperating said winch intermittently for predetermined periods of timeand adjust-able means for regulating each period of time during whichsaid second control means operates.

3. An implement comprising in combination, a silo unloader, Winch meansoperatively connected .to said silo unloader for raising and loweringsaid unloader, selectively operable first control means for turning onand off said winch, second control means for operating said winchintermittently for predetermined periods of time, an adjustable meansfor regulating each period of time during which said second controlmeans operates and a selectively operable reversing means connected tosaid Winch for changing the direction of rotation thereof.

4. An unloading implement for use with a source of current, saidapparatus comprising in combination a silo unloader, an elongatedflexible connecting member extend ing upwardly therefrom to the upperend of said silo, a winch means connected to the opposite end of saidconnecting member from the silo unloader, .an electric drive motorconnected to said winch, conductor means adapted to connect a source ofcurrent to said electric drive motor, switch means connected betweensaid source of current and said electric drive motor, a current controlconnected between the source of current and said drive motor and aregulator for intermittently operating the current control so as tocause the motor to be operated at spaced intervals and a by-passconnected in series with the current control to operate said motorwithout regard to the condition of said current control.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4 wherein the regulator comprises atiming motor connected across said source of current.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5 wherein an indicator arm isoperatively connected to said timer motor for providing visual dataindicating the vertical position of said silo unloader in the silo.

7. An agricultural implement comprising in combination, a silo unloader,a flexible connecting member se cured thereto and extending upwardlytherefrom, a winch means secured to the end of the connecting memberopposite from the silo unloader, a drive motor for operating the winch,a normally open switch means operatively connected to said motor, atiming motor conductively connected to said switch means for regulatingcurrent flow thereto, a switch operating member connected to the shaftof said motor and positioned to operatively engage and close said switchmeans at periodic interval-s.

8. The apparatus according to claim '7 including means for mounting theswitch means for movement toward or away from said switch operatingmember whereby the switch operating member is adapted to engage theswitch means for a greater period of time when the switch means is movedtoward the switch operating member to thereby increase the period oftime during which the switch means is in the closed position.

9. The apparatus according to claim 7 wherein .a position indicator armis connected to the timing motor to provide visual data indicating theposition of the movable portion of the timer motor with respect to .areference point.

10. A silo unloader and control therefor for unloading silos comprising,a silo unloader disposed within a silo, a flexible support meansrotatably secured to said silo unloader, a winch means secured to saidsilo .and operably secured to said flexible support means, motor meansdrivingly secured to said winch means, conductor means conductivelysecured to said motor means, switch means comprising a portion of saidconductor means, a timing motor mounted near said switch means, a switchactuating arm operably secured to said timing motor and disposed so asto be rotated thereby, means for moving said actuating warm and saidswitch relative to one another to provide variable engagementtherebetween, and means secured to said timing motor for establishingvisual data indicating the position of said silo unloader Within saidsilo.

11. A control for a silo unloader comprising in combination, Winch meansoperatively eonnected to said silo unloader for raising and lowering theunloader, selectively operable first control means movable to a firstposition for turning off said Winch and movable to a second position toturn on said winch, and second control means for operating said Winchintermittently for predetermined periods of time When the first controlmeans is in the on position.

a 12. The control defined in claim 11 including, an adjustable means forregulating each period of time during Which said second control meansoperates.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,430,203 11/1947Bailey 2-14-17 2,511,246 6/ 1950 Chamberlin 214-17 2,518,601 8/1950Cor'dis 21417 2,578,632 12/1951 Miller 20038 2,580,306 12/1951 Leach etal 2l41-7 2,958,510 11/1960 Finch 254173 15 HUGO O. SCHULZ, PrimaryExaminer.

1. A CONTROL FOR A SILO UNLOADER COMPRISING IN COMBINATION, WHICH MEANSOPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID SILO UNLOADER FOR RAISING AND LOWERINGSAID UNLOADER, SELECTIVELY OPERABLE FIRST CONTROL MEANS FOR TURNING ONAND OFF SAID WINCH, AND SECOND CONTROL MEANS FOR OPERATING SAID WINCHINTERMITTENTLY FOR PREDETERMINED PERIODS OF TIME.